Refuse destructor



July 23, 1935. G. L. TUPPEN REFUSE DESTRUCTOR w., Rw... TT O NE T we T@DMA p Y. fea B July 23, 1935. G. L.. TUPPEN REFUSE DESTRUCTOR 3Sheets-Sheet, 2

Filed July 28, 1931 I INVENTOR, GERARD LEE "JPPEN BY- MH@ www TToRNEy,

juy 23, 1935. G. L. TUPPEN REFUSE'V DESTRUCTOR Filed July 28, 1951 5Sheets-Sheep 5 GER/m0 LE Patented July 23, 1935 y Y UNiTEDsTATEsPATENTfoFFl/CE Application July 28, 1931, Serial No. 553594 InGreat Britain December 6, 1930 17 Claims. (Cl. 1111-15) This inventionrelates to improvements in or Fig. i is ar cross ,section to the sameenlarged relating to destructors for the drying and comscaleon the lineV-IV of Fig. 1. bustion of miscellaneous unscreened rmaterial Fig. 5 isa plan to arr enlarged scale of the opsuch as city refuse or garbage.erating mechanism shown in Fig. lAand The principal object of `thisinvention is to Fig. 6 is a broken sectional elevation showing 5 providea destructor of the above-mentioned a portion of the moving and xedfire-bars at .the

type, in which compensation is provided for junction of two sections ofmoving lire-bars.

l. The reduction in bulk of the material dur- Referring to the drawings,the destructor shown ing the process of drying, comprises a combustionchamber I and a single 2. The reduction in bulk of the materialdurdrying chamber 2. The inclined grate comprises 10 ing the process ofcombustion, xed nre-bars 3 and movable lire-bars 4. As 3. The varyingrate of combustion of the vashown, between every two Xed fire-bars 3there rious substances comprised in the material unis located a movablefire-barili. The xed fireder treatment. f bars 3 are carried by sideracks 5 supported on A further object of my invention is to provide4each side wall of the drying and combustion 15 such a destructoroperating at a pressure below chambers. Each vside rack 5 is dividedinto suitthat of the atmosphere so that there is no emisable lengths'andeach length is independently sesion of foul gases. cured to dogs 6 builtinto said side walls so that A still further object of my invention isto each length of the side racks may expand and m3 provide a destructorof this type in which the contract. independently. The racks 5 aremount- 20 drying is effected by heat derived from the comed at asuitable angle with the horizontal accordbustion of the materials undertreatment. ing to the nature of the material to be treated,

yT0 heSe ends, the destructor comprises a dry" for example at an angleof the order of 21, and ing chamber and a combustion chamber, with areYprovided With parallel S1015S 7 OI the recep- Q; an inclined grate, thesaid grate being divided tion of the Xed bars 3. In order to prevent theinto a plurality of sections, and means for vary.- working back of finematerials and dust, the slots ing as required they rate of progressofthe rna- T are not alallged hOI'ZOntally but at a .slight teria] undertreatment down the grate, section angl@ 6, S2W OI' @Xample 3 With thehOIiZOIltal by section, at diierent stages of the drying and (See Fia6), S0 that the Xed lire-bars are tilted 3o combustion processes.somewhat, the forward edges being lower thang() For drying purposes, anadjustable proportion the rearward edges. The slots 1 are closed attheir of the combustio-n gases is withdrawn at a suitfOlWaI'd ends la,S0 that the Xed Ie-bal's may able point from the main iiue by a fan and'Caused be readily mounted with a line joining their to pass with aid ofbailies through the mattress OIWaTd edges at the Same angle With theho'' 3,; of material on the grate in the drying chamber ZOnall as theracks 5f The fixed Te-ba 3 0011-' 35 at a, plurality of points.lengthwise of the. grate sist of plates each stiiiened by alongitudinal web and then returned to the main flue where these 3a 0nthe underside (see Fig. 6). Those xed regases mingle with the remainderof the gases bars 3 located within the combustion chamber I from thecombustion chamber, and the whole are advantageously also provid-ed with'a Short Q pasged by a Second fan tothesmoke Stack central transversestiffening webb. The fixed 40 This invention is illustrated in theaccompanyand movable rebms are spaced apart Sufcient" ing drawing inwhich ly to allowk the free passage of air. Themov- Fig. l is asectionallongitudinal elevation of a glblsr; lisaleofgghgegs .15 desucbonbqfdylg thi p'resent mvemlon. a" to two inclined reciprocating beams 8,8, so that 45 por wn. 0l le. Xe re' ars and mow/mg me said plates areparallel to the fixed bars 3. The bars) belg, Omltted' L fire-bars 4extend the fullwidth between the side Ffg 1s an elevatlon m onbmuauon ofF 1g' racks 5 in the drying chamber, but in the combus- 1 Snowmg m'eansfor operating th? Several ses" tion chamber, the lire-bars 4 aretransversely dito mms Pf mmfng m'bars an@ vaffrymg the Speed vided intotwo sections 4', 4 Yso as to clear the 50 of reciprocation of eachsection independently. stiffening central web 3b on the xed 1.e barsFig. 2 1s a sectionalplan View of the destructorv Reciprocatingframework for Supporting the m0v taken 0'1"- th@ line II--II-*II 0f Fig1- able bars 4 is divided into as many. sections, and

Fig. 3 iS a CYO'SS SeCtOIl t0 an enlarged scale on each section is ofsuchA a length as. may `be rethe line III-III 0f Fig. 1. f f v Y yquired forvarying the rate of progress of the ma- 55 terial undertreatment down the grate section by section at different stages of thedrying and of the combustion processes. As shown, the framework consistsof beams 8, 8 divided into two sections only, one of which extendsthroughout the drying chamber and into a certain portion of the upperpart of the combustion chamber I, while the other sections extendsthrough the remainder of the combustion chamber. Each section of thebeams 8, 8 is carried by two or more pairs of roller paths, linespassing through the centers of the rollers of two or more pairs beinglocated at the same angle with the horizontal as beam E. Each rollerpath consists of an upper bracket 9 bolted to the under side or" a beam8 and a bottom bracket Iii bolted to and ca ried by a transverse beam orbeams i l carried by the side walls of the drying and combustionchambers. Rollers i2 located between the brackets 9 and IQ arepreferably provided with anges l2a adapted to engage the sides ofthebrackets and the rollers oi each pair of roller paths are spaced apartby a rigidly connected shaft i3. to reduce clearance spaces at the pointwhere the upper end of .aV baffle wall located beneath the grate such asthe end wall I4 of the combustion chamber I, meets the grate, the beams3, 3 are out .so as to permit of free reciprocation of the beams withoutcoming into contact with the baille wall and the two adjacent ends ofthe beams are connected together by longitudinal members I5 ofrelatively narrow cross section. Obviously, should two adjoiningsections of the beams be located one on either side of the baflie wall,the connecting members I5 are not required and the question of reducingclearance spaces does not arise. The beams B, 3 are cross connected bysuitable bracing members I6. At points in the grate between adjacentends of separate lengths of beams', 8 and at the lower end of the grateadjacent the ash and clinker outlet Il, a special fixed fire-bar i8 ismounted in rack slots between two fixed nre-bars 3. Each fire-bar I8 isprovided with an apron I9 at an angle with the horizontal correspondingwith that of the racks 5.

The material under treatment is moved down the grate in conjunction withthe natural gravitational movement` by imparting a reciprocatingmovement to the sections of beams 8, 8, for instance by means ofreciprocating rods, tubes or bars 2G, 2B at one end thereof securedto,if arranged horizontally, otherwise pivoted to, brackets 2|, 2l suitablymounted on the beams. Where the reciprocating rods 29, 29 pass throughbailie walls such as end wall i4 of combustion chamber l, they aresupported in roller glands S9 boxed in at each end and built into thewall. The power for driving the reciprocating rods 22, 26 may be derivedfrom any suitable source, but advantageously from steam raised by thehot gases of combustion from chamber I. The length of the stroke of thebeams 8, 8 is preferably such that at one end thereof the outer ends ofthe moving nre-bars 4- are brought below the outer ends or the xed bars3 immediately above them and at the other end of the stroke the outerends of the moving nre-bars 4 cover the outer ends of the fixed bars 3immediately below them. By imparting Aa reciprocating movement to eachsection oi the movable nre-bars 4 independently, that is to say eachsection having its own operating gear, the frequency 'ofv thereciprocating movement may be regulated as desired and thereby the rateoi progress of the material under treatment down the grate may beregulated sec- In order tion by section at different stages of thedrying and combustion processes. One form of operating gear meeting suchconditions is shown in Figs. 1A and 5, where each reciprocating rod 2i@is driven by a corresponding eccentric rod 22, 22. Each eccentric iscarried or otherwise driven by a corresponding ratchet wheel 23, 23.Each ratchet wheel is provided with a locking pawl 251, 2li carried by ashaft 'I5 and with a plurality of oscillating operating pawls E5, 2E and2t piv oted on and between pairs of carrier cheeks and 2', 28' rigidlybolted together and capable of angular movement about the axis of saidwheelsl 'and of a shaft Eil upon which the wheels are freely mounted.Each pair of cheeks 2l, 2s and 2l', 28 with the corresponding operatingpawls 25, 2t and 25', 2b is caused to oscillate by a correspondingconnecting rod 30, 3B pivotally connected at one end to the pair'oicheeks by a pin 3i, 3| and at the other end pivotally connected by aremovable pin 32, 32 located in any one of a number of correspondingholes 33,63 provided lengthwise a corresponding v lever 34, 34 eachrigidly mounted on an oscillating countershait 35. The countershaft 35is caused to oscillate by means ci a connecting rod 3'! pivotallyconnected at one end by a removable pin 38 located in one of the holes33 provi ed lengthwise of one of the levers and at the other end to acrank pin 40 shown mounted on a disc 4I secured to a rotating shaftwhich, as shown, is driven by a belt 43 and fast and loose pulleys 44,45. Y

With such an arrangement, the angle of oscillation of both pairs of pawlcarrier cheeks 2?, 2B and 2?', 23 and thereby the speed oi" rotation ofboth ratchet wheels and corresponding eccentrics,A

and consequently the frequency of the reciprocating movements of bothsections of moving iirebars 4 can be varied simultaneously by simplyvarying the location of the pin in the lever 34 and the said angle ofoscillation can be again varied by varying the location of the pins 32,32 in the levers 34, t4', or, having adjusted said angle bycorrespondingly adjusting the location of the pin 38, the relativefrequency of reciprocating movements of the two sections of movinghre-bars 4 can be adjusted by varying the location of one of the pins3E, 3E in the corresponding levers 34, 34.

The destructor may be constructed mainly of brickwork, the combustionchamber I being provided with a lining I of rebrick or other .suitablerefractory material and the side walls of the dryH ing chambers 2 beingprotected by plates 9 of a suitable metai, for example .iron or mildinserted at their lower edges betwe able moulding 5o integral with or tothe upper edges of the racks their upper edges stiiened by o. 2' andbolted to said side w 'ilsA of the chamber 2 may ccnven closed by platesf5 stiiened with Tircs and of a suitable length to be convenientiyhandled and these plates may be provided with a light covering of earthor the like. At the upper end of the drying chamber 2, a hopper 4l' isprovided forming a connection with the storage floor t3 for the dumpingof the material to e t. Ai., the lower end of the combustion chamber,the ash and clinker outlet Il comprises a door frame 49 and a door 5i?mounted on a horizontal shaft 5I and biased to the closed position byi+s own weight and that of a counterbalancing weight 52 adjustablymounted on a lever rigidly secured on shaft 5I at such anangie with thedoor rif Id adjacent passage 62.

50 that when this has been opened to the desired degree, the weight 52will have passed the vertical plane through the axis of shaft 5i to aSullicient extent to Wholly orpartially counterbalance the weight of thedoor. The sides of the door frame :it are shrouded at 55 to a sufiioientextent to avoid an undesirable inrush of cold -air into the combustionchamber, except that which might pass through the hot clinker andthereby become heated.

In one side wall at the upper level of the combustion chamber i is anarchway 55, through which the combustion' gases are drawn by an exhaustfan 55 located near a smoke stack 57 into a main flue 58. The gases inthe main flue 58 may be utilized a supplementary furnace indicated bydotted lines 53 and/or in'a boiler'indicated by dottedv lines 6d. Thesupplementary furnace 59 may be used for the combustion o1 selected orany particular material, such as animalbodies for example. VThe. boiler@t may be utilized in the known manner for the raising of steam whichmay be used, for example, as the driving power for the gear operatingthe sections of moving nre barsV i and other mechanism that may beemployed in connection with the ydestructor.

The mattress of materialV on the grate within the ldrying chamber 2 isdried by combustion gases Withdrawn by a second exhaust fan 6! from themain flue 5% at a suitable point, and where a suppl-ementary furnacestructure 5@ and/or a boiler structure 6G is employed, said point willbe located between said structure or structuresand the exhaust fan 56.The gases so Withdrawn are caused to pass by the action of thev ian Siand under the inuence ofa suitable numb-er of baile walls or plates,arranged transversely of the grate, through the mattress of material onthe grate in the drying chamber E a given number of times and thereuponreturned'to the main flue 58 and, under the influence of the fan 5t,delivered to the stack 5i' togetherwith the remainder of the combustiongases. To. these ends, as shown in Figs. l and 2, one or Yboth of thesidewalls of the drying chamber 2 .is or are provided with one or moreinlet passages t2 arranged. longitudinally of said chamber on eitherside'of one or more outlet passages 553 of correspondingly increasedcross-sectional area, the inlet passages E32 being connected by abranched by-pass ue 64 with the main flue 53 and the fan 6i beinglocated between the outlet passage 53 and a by-pass iiue 65 returningthergases to the mainlue 53. Pivoted baiiles 66 are shown between the.hopper il and the adjacent passage 52, between the passage 53 andadjacent passages 62, and between the upper end of the combustionchamber l and the These baffles bear by their own weight, assisted ifnecessary by weight '13, upon the mattress of material upon they grateindependently of any variation in thickness of the mattress. In order todiminish the size of the pivoted baffles 65, these may be pivoted on ahorizontal axis immediately below xed baille plates 63 supported by theside walls of the chamber 2. shafts l@ carried by bearings 'il builtinto the side walls of the drying chamber. At a convenient point insideor outside the drying chamber, levers 'i2 are secured to the shafts 'Illand adjustably carry Weights 13, l

The material, dumped on the iioor 48 for treatment, is fed through thehopper 4l on to the top bar of the grate, whence it` cascades downwardsAs shown, the baiiles S6 are secured to:

by gravitly,.assistedby the action of the moving nre-bars, which actionno-t only prevents adherence of clinker to the bars but also assuresthatany voids formed in the mattress of material,-

as for example by the more'rapid burning of f porting the moving bars ofthe grate into sections, f

providing each section with separate operating gear'and providing eachgear with coresponding means for regulating the frequency of thereciprocating movement, the rate of progress of the material down thegrate in the drying and in the combustion chamber caribe regulated tocompensate forthe reduction in bulk of the material.

Although the frames supporting the moving bars have been shown in twosections only, it is to be understood that said frames may be dividedinto any desired number of sections according to the nature of thematerial to be treated, provided that' each section has its ownoperating gear with corresponding means for regulating the frequency ofthe reciprocating movement as aforesaid.

It is alsoI to be understood that in some cases a single baille maysuice in the drying chamber when the combustion gases withdrawn from themain flue will pass into said chamber on one side of the baille aroundthis through the material on the grate to the other side of the bailleon its return tothe main flue.

The term grate is to be understood asincluding the bars supporting thematerial under treatment in the drying chamber, as well as the barssupporting the material in the combustion chamber.-

It will also be understood that the references throughout thisspeciiication to treatment of the materials are generic in that theyinclude both the dryingand combustion phases.

It is further to be understood that in place of a rotating oroscillating eccentric or equivalent crankv for providing a reciprocatingmovement of the sections of frames supporting the moving bars@,saidrmovement may be obtained by mea-ns of a ram or piston, providedalways that the frequency of said movement can be regulated as tinuousincline, the portion ofY the grate located in the combustion chamber maybe stepped down with respect to the portion of the grate in the dryingchamber, and in any case, the .angles of inclination of the two saidgrate portions may differ. n the case of a larger installation, the ar-Yrangement of the grate as described may be du- Cil and complete units,whether with duplicated groups, or not, may be arranged side by sideop'- erating with one or more units in reserve orv in parallel. i

In a larger installation, the ash and clinker would fall in due courseinto a stream of running water and under a water seal to be therebycarried away to a settling sump. The steam rising from the quenched ashand clinker would be drawn into the furnace by the induced draught.

instead of using flue gases as the elastic fluid drying medium l may useas have reviously proposed free air heated by a heater such as is wellknown and commonly used. between the boiler and smolre stack.

This heated air will then be passed through the refuse or material to bedried while in the drying section by the same means as employed in theof flue gases and upon leaving the drying section will be delivered inthe well known manne-1' to the space under the combustion grate, with orwithout the admission of additional air as maybe equired.

lt will be observed that while the employment oi induced draught for thepurpose of circulating combustion gases through the drying chamberprevents the emission of foul gases from the drying section, aspreviously stated, the use of a second induced draught ian at the baseoi the smoke stack enables the whole plant to be operated at a pressurebelow that of the atmosphere.

claim:-

i, in a destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse andother miscellaneous unscreened material comprising drying and combustionchambers, an inclined grate with Xed and movable bars arranged at asmall angle with the horizontal in said chambers so that the forwardedge of each bar is lower than its rearward edge, sectional side girdersfor carrying said xed bars, each of said sections being free to expandand contract independently, sectional framework for carrying successivegroups of said movable bars, supports for said framework, means forreciprocating each section of said framework independently to advanceand retire said movable bars between said iixed bars, and means forvarying the frequency of reciprocation of each section of said frameworkindependently.

2. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unsoreened material comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber below the level of and communicating with said dryingchamber, an ined grate with nxed bars and interposed movable barsextending through both of said chambers, means for passing an elasticfluid drying medium through the materials on said grate in said dryingchamber, means for reciprocating said movable bars by sections in adirection lengthwise oi said chambers, each succeeding section beingreciprocated at a frequency less than that of the preceding section.

3. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber below the level of and communicating with said dryingchamber, an inclined grate with fixed bars and interposed movable barsextending through both of said chambers, means for inducing a draftthrough the materials on the inclined grate in said combustion chamberto consume said materials, means for passing an elastic fluid dryingmedium through the materials on the inclined grate in said dryingchamber by induced draft, means' for reciprocating said movable bars bysections in a direction lengthwise of said chambers, each succeedingsection being reoiprocated `at a frequency less than that of thepreceding section.

4. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber below the level of and communicating with said dryingchamber, an inclined grate with fixed bars and interposed movable barsextending through both of said chambers, means for passing an elasticuid drying medium through the materials on the inclined grate in saiddrying chamber by induced draft, means for reciprocating said movablebars by sec ions in a direction lengthwise of said chambers includingmeans for varying the frequency of reciprocation of each of saidsections independently.

5. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber below the level of and communicating with said dryingchamber, an inclined grate with fixed bars and interposed movable barsextending through both of said chambers, means for passings an elasticfluid drying medium through the material on the inclined grate in saiddrying chamber by induced draft, means for reciprocating said' movablebars by sections in a direction lengthwise of said chambers includingmeans for varying the frequency of reciprocation of each of saidsections independently and means for varying the frequency ofreciprocation of all of said sections simultaneously.

6. A destructor for the drying and. combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber below the level of and communicating with said dryingchamber, an inclined grate with iixed bars and interposed movable barsextending through both of said chambers, means for passing an elasticfluid drying medium through the materials on the inclined grate in saiddrying chamber by induced draft, means for reciprocating said movablebars by sections in a direction lengthwise of said grate and at a smallangle to the horizontal whereby said movable bars are caused to rise andfall during each reciprocation thereof, including means for varying thefrequency of reciprocation of each section independently.

'7. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber below the level or" and communicating with saiddrying chamber, inclined grate with fixed and interposed movable barsextending through both of said chambers, means for passing an elasticfluid drying medium through the materials on the grate in said dryingchamber a plurality of times by induced draft including a plurality ofmovable baiiles arranged transversely of said drying chamber and adaptedto rest by gravity upon the materials on said inclined grate wherebysaid drying chamber is divided into a plurality of compartments, inletpassages for said drying medium to some of said compartments and outletpassages for said drying medium from other of said compartments, meansfor reciprocating said movable bars by sections including means forVarying the frequency of reciprocation of each section independently.

8. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials comprising af-drying chamber, 'acombustion chamber belowpthe level of and communicating with said dryingchamber, an inclined grate with xed and interposed movable barsextending through said chambers, means for passing an elastic fluiddrying medium through th-e material on saidgrate insaid drying chamberby induced draft including a plurality of baillesarranged transverselyof said drying chamber, each pivoted along its upper edge and arrangedto rest on the material on said grate along its lower side atan .angleon the -forward'side of the vertical through the axis of the pivotirrespective of the depth of said materials whereby said drying chamberis divided into a plurality of compartments, inlet passages for saiddryingsmedium to some of said compartments and outlet passages for saiddrying medium from other of said compartments, and means forreciprocating said movable bars by sections including means for varyingthe frequency of reciprocation of each section independently.

9. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials comprising drying and combustionchambers, an inclined grate extending through both of said chambers withxecl and interposed movable bars, means for reciprocating said movablebars by sections including means for varying the rate of reciprocationof each section independently, a plurality of movable baffles arrangedtransversely of said drying chamber and adapted to rest on the materialson said grate, said movable bafes dividing said chamber into a pluralityof compartments, a main flue for carrying off the combustion gases fromsaid combustion chamber, inlet passages leading to some of saidcompartments, a bypass flue for conducting a portion of the combustiongases from'said main flue to said inlet passages, an outlet for saidgases from the remaining compartments, and means including a flueconnecting said outlets to said main flue for exhausting said gases fromsaid remaining compartments.

10. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened material, comprising a drying chamber and acombustion chamber below the level of said drying chamber, an inclinedgrate arranged in said chambers with fixed and movable bars, a Verticalv.baille wall below said grate between said drying and combustionchambers, a vertical baie wall below said grate adjacent the upper endthereof, sectional framework for carrying successive groups of saidmovable bars, means for reciprov eating each section of said frameworkindependently toadvance and retire said movable bars between said iixedbars including reciprocating members each connected at one end toacorresponding section of said framework and each of suicient length topass through said second mentioned wall, gland boxes carried by saidwall for supporting said members and adapted to act substantially asair-locks, means for varying the frequency of reciprocation of each ofsaid sections of the framework independently, and means for passing anelastic uid drying medium through the materials on the grate in saiddrying chamber.

11. A destructor, for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials, comprising a drying chamber and acombustion chamber below the level of said drying chamber, an inclinedgrate with fixed and movable bars arranged in said chambers, sectionalframework for carrying successive groups of said movable bars, means forreciprocating each section of said framework independently to advanceand retire said movable bars between said fixed bars including areciprocating member connected to each section of said framework, meansfor imparting a reciprocating movement to each of said membersindependently comprising a ratchet wheel, a locking pawl for said wheel,aplurality of operating pawls mounted on pivots carried by an elementcapable of oscillation about the axis of said wheel, a power-drivenshaft, means operated by said shaft for imparting an angular movement toeach of said elements independently, means for varying the angle ofmovement of each element independently and means for passing an elasticfluid drying medium through the materials on the grate in said dryingchamber.

12. A destructor, for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials, comprising a drying chamber and acombustion chamber below the level of said dryingchamber, an inclinedgrate with fixed and movable bars arranged in said chambers, sectionalframework for carrying successive groups of said movable bars, means forreciprocating each section of said framework independently to advanceand retire said movable bars between said fixed bars including areciprocating member connected to each section of said framework, meansfor imparting a reciprocating movement to each of said membersindependently comprising la ratchet Wheel, a` locking'pawl for saidwheel, a plurality of operating pawls mounted on pivots carried by anelement capable of oscillation about the axis of said wheel, apowerdriven shaft, a counter-shaft, means operated by said power drivenshaft for imparting an angular movement to said counter shaftmeans forvarying the angle of movement thus imparted to said countershaft, meansoperated by said countershaft for imparting an angular movement to eachof said elements independently, means for varying the angle ofmovementof each element independently, means for passing an elastic iiuid dryingmedium through the materials on the grate in said drying chamber, astack, and means for passing said medium and the combustion gases fromsaid combustion chamber under induced draft to said stack.

13. Apparatus for treating city refuse and other miscellaneousunscreened materials comprising a chamber, an inclined grate having Xedand interposed movable bars arranged in said chamber, means for passingan elastic fluid medium through the materials on said grate, means forreciprocating said movable bars by sections in a direction lengthwise ofsaid chamber including means for independently increasing the frequencyof reciprocation of any superior section with respect to a succeedingsection to compensate for changes in volume of said materials.

14. Apparatus for treating city refuse and other miscellaneousunscreened materials comprising a drying chamber, a combustion chamber,a grate having fixed and interposed movable bars extending through bothof said chambers, means including baiiie members arranged transverselyof said drying chamber for passing an electric fluid medium through thematerialsV on said grate a plurality of times and means forreciprocating said movable bars by sections in a direction lengthwise ofsaid chambers including means for independently increasing the frequencyof reciprocation of any superior section with respect to a succeedingsection to compensate for'ohanges in Volume of said materials.

15. Apparatus for treating city refuse and miscellanecus unscreenedmaterials comprising a drying chamber, a grate arranged in said chamber,a plurality of bale members arranged transversely of said chamber abovesaid grate pivotally supported along the upper edge thereof and of suchdepth as to normally bear on the materials on said grate whereby saidchamber is divided into three or more compartments, an open compartmentbeneath said grate and substantially coextensive with said lastmentioned compartments, means for supplying an elastic fluid dryingmedium to end compartments, an outlet for the intermediate compartmentand means for withdrawing said drying medium from said intermediatecompartment by induced draft. Y

16. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials, comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber communicating with said drying chamber, asectionalized grate eX tending through both of said chambers, atransversely arranged baiiie member for substantially preventingcommunication between the spaces above said grate in said chambers, saidbale member being pivoted along its upper edge and arranged to rest onthe materials on said grate along its lower side at an angle on theforward side of the vertical through the axis of the pivot, meansfor'passing an elastic ud drying medium through the materials on saidgrate in said drying chamber by induced draft, and means for feedingsaid materials over each succeeding sec-Y tion of said grate at aprogressively decreasing rate.

17. A destructor for the drying and combustion of city refuse and othermiscellaneous unscreened materials, comprising a drying chamber, acombustion chamber communicating with said drying chamber, asectionalized grate extending Y through both of said chambers, atransversely arranged bailie member for substantially preventingcommunication between the spaces above the grate in said chambers, saidbaiiie member being pivoted along its upper edge and arranged to rest onthe materials on said grate along its lower side at an angle on theforward side of the vertical through the axis of the pivot, means forinducing a draft through the materials on said grate in said combustionchamber to consume said materials, means for passing an elastic fiuiddrying medium through the materials on said grate in said drying chamberby induced draft, and means for feeding said materials over eachsucceeding section of said grate at a progressively decreasing rate.

GERARD LEE TUPPEN.

